For a few weeks earlier this year, I helped out an NGO with their reforestation efforts at the borders of the Gunung Palung National Park, in a corner of Borneo. The park is rapidly shrinking from years of illegal (and open, day-time) logging and an indolent forest department. The NGO aims to combine local people's health benefits with forest protection. My time there was perhaps the most enriching few weeks I've spent somewhere in recent years. If you have a few minutes you can read about it here:
http://www.healthinharmony.org/2012/06/25/emails-from-borneo/?utm_source=All+Emails+for+Enews+[updated+June+4%2C+2012]&utm_campaign=cceb81546b-Enewsletter_6_26_2012&utm_medium=email I got a little mushy there at the beginning, but you get the idea. The NGO, Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) is led by an amazing woman, Kinari Webb. She went to study Orangutans as an undergraduate in the park years ago, decided she had to do something about the losses she witnessed (both botanical and human), went back to the US to get trained as medical doctor, and then returned to start ASRI. The reason to write to silklist is that the NGO is looking for more volunteers - people with medical, conservation, databasing, marketing, research expertise. Or someone who is just willing to go stay for a bit and lend them a hand with whatever they are doing. Take a look at their website (Health in Harmony is the US organization that funds ASRI): http://www.healthinharmony.org/ http://alamsehatlestari.org/volunteer/current-volunteer-openings/ If you are interested in helping them, I would be happy to share more information and/or put you in touch with someone. Deepa
